DETROIT—The U.S. government is turning up the pressure on ARC Automotive to recall 67 million potentially dangerous air bag inflators by ordering the company to answer questions under oath and threatening fines if it doesn’t respond.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) argues that the recall is justified because two people have been killed in the United States and Canada and at least seven others injured by ARC inflators, which can explode with too much force and expel shapnel. The explosions, which first occurred in 2009, have continued as recently as this year.
The special order from NHTSA asks multiple questions about whether ARC expects any of its inflators to blow apart in the future, and whether it has notified customers about the risk….